I. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed toward the field of hoses, more particularly hoses with coupling connectors at an end for delivering pressurized water, and most particularly to a novel garden soaker hose having a flow restricting aperture and a porous wall along its length for uniform seepage of water.
II. Discussion of the Prior Art
With the increase in population, water is increasingly used and shortages occur more frequently. Accordingly, water has become a more important and scarcer resource that is necessary to conserve. Cultivation of crops, gardens, lawns, foliage, cultivation benches, planters and the like are all important uses of water. Soil soaking devices have been developed for applying water to these areas in need of supplemental watering. Soaker devices must be able to conserve water and provide adequate saturation to allow for sufficient growth while minimizing water loss.
Most of the prior soil soaking devices have functioned as surface watering devices. Surface watering tends to be wasteful since water that is not absorbed quickly enough runs off or evaporates, and the water that has absorbed must wet the soil until it reaches the roots. Examples of such devices include irrigation conduits and pipes, sprinkler hoses, and hoses having a porosity for trickling water under pressure to soak soil in the surrounding area. Soil soaking hoses leak water slowly over their entire surface and length, and are currently made from vinyl plastic, natural rubber, synthetic rubber or a thermoplastic rubber with various water flow restriction attachments or fittings. A number of relevant patents directed toward flow control devices for attachment to such hoses have been granted.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,781,058 issued to Warhus discloses an improved flow control device which will maintain a preselected rate of flow within relatively close limits over a wide range of pressure drops across the device. Further, the patent discloses a casing having inflow and outflow passages for connection to fluid conduits within which the flow rate is to be controlled. Another device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,815,041 to Rimsha et al. which teaches a single solenoid hydraulic control valve for controlling the power and return strokes of a fluid actuating mechanism. U.S. Pat. No. 2,891,578 to Dahl et al. is, likewise, directed to a flow control device. In the U.S. Pat. No. '578 patent, the resilient flow control device is readily flexible in a downstream direction upon increasing fluid pressure acting on the upstream face thereof and it returns to its initial position upon pressure reduction. The flow device comprises a retaining ring which may be a press fitted insert. U.S. Pat. No. 3,072,151 to Quercia discloses a gas regulator having a restricting channel formed in an elastically deformable material.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,833,019 to Diggs discloses quick connect fittings for a trickle type irrigation system. The fittings have a pair of body members threadably joined together for clamping a resilient compressible orifice member therebetween. The body members engage the compressible orifice member and compress it radially inwardly to reduce the orifice size. U.S. Pat. No. 4,105,050 to Hendrickson et al. also discloses an elastomeric flow restrictor for constant fluid delivery in a system having broad ranges of input pressures.
In addition to flow restricting hose fittings described above, prior art patents disclose porous soil soaking hoses. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 2,807,505 issued to Weitzel discloses a soil soaking hose made of porous plastic material for use in watering gardens, lawns or the like. More specifically, the hose has walls made of plastic material having a porous sponge-like structure which contains a multiplicity of interconnected irregular shaped pores. More recent U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,517,316 and 4,616,055 to Mason et al. disclose porous irrigation pipes prepared from particulate elastomer or crumb rubber and thermoplastic binder that have porosities along the length of the pipe.
In view of the above prior art, more efficient and inexpensive systems for the uniform delivery of water are needed. There is a particular need for a soaker hose for effectively irrigating crops, cultivation benches, lawns, foliage, planters, gardens, and the like, with a slow thorough water seepage. A soaker hose that is suitable for common pressures and even distribution of water is also desired.